S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 98

The Culinary Murderer 50 – Rescue

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The convoy rushing to the canning factory split into two groups. Bai Yutang took Zhao Hu, Ma Han, and a squad of SWAT officers straight into an underground car park near the factory.

Meanwhile, Qin Ou and Luo Tian, along with Wang Ba's bomb disposal unit and another SWAT team, drove directly to the factory.

Bai Ye, Guan Xiaoyue, and Qian Lin were still on the rooftop.

Qian Lin and Guan Xiaoyue were still rather talkative, constantly asking Bai Ye all sorts of questions.

However, Bai Ye ignored the two of them and instead kept his eyes fixed on a certain spot at the back of the factory.

From his elevated vantage point, Bai Ye had noticed the clear split in the police convoy earlier.

"The police are coming!" Guan Xiaoyue and Qian Lin both signalled for Bai Ye to look ahead.

But Bai Ye clearly wasn't interested in what lay ahead, he kept his eyes on the back of the factory...

Suddenly, Bai Ye jumped down from the rooftop.

"Eh?" Guan Xiaoyue and Qian Lin saw him leap off the back of the building... and quickly vanish into the complex structures of the factory grounds.

Guan Xiaoyue and Qian Lin exchanged glances, worry evident on both their faces.

"Will he run into him?" Guan Xiaoyue asked anxiously.

Qian Lin sent a text message on his phone, but after waiting a while, there was no reply.

Just then, the factory gates opened, and police cars drove inside.

The mechanical dogs gathered below the building dispersed in an orderly manner, returning to their jobs in the blink of an eye.

Seeing the police vehicles head straight into the factory, Guan Xiaoyue prepared to climb down a water pipe.

Qian Lin whispered to him, "Are we in trouble?"

Guan Xiaoyue clicked his tongue. "Who knows? Let's go find Uncle first!"

"Has Uncle found them?" Qian Lin watched as police in bomb disposal gear approached the factory after surrounding it. "The factory is swarming with police... Uncle won't get caught, right?"

"I'm not worried about him being caught by the police, I'm worried about him running into Bai Ye!" Guan Xiaoyue jumped down, dusting his hands. "Bai Ye gives me a scary feeling..."

After a brief discussion, the two decided to go to the factory to see what was going on.

......

Yesterday, when Bai Yutang entered the underground parking garage, he noticed that part of it consisted of reserved spaces, with several vehicles bearing the canning factory's advertisements parked there. He had suspected then that part of the parking garage might be used by the factory... which would mean there was probably a passage leading directly into the factory.

A public parking garage naturally had surveillance cameras, so any vehicles coming in and out would be recorded... Therefore, Bai Yutang got out of the car and began looking up, while Zhao Hu, Ma Han, and a few SWAT officers, under Bai Yutang's direction, searched for areas without cameras.

......

From his observations on the rooftop, Bai Ye had a rough idea of the factory's layout and committed the route to memory.

After weaving through a few alleyways, a small parking lot appeared in front of him.

Bai Ye walked in and soon spotted a hidden entrance to the underground parking garage.

After staring at the dark entrance for a while, Bai Ye didn't move, but stood there and turned his head.

Just as he turned his head, half of a white figure appeared in front of him, but the other party hid behind a car at an extremely fast speed.

Bai Ye stared at the car for a while.

Neither side moved.

Bai Ye spoke first. "If you go in like that, you'll be caught."

As soon as he finished, a hand emerged from behind the car, placing a cardboard box on the ground, then the white figure flashed past and vanished.

Bai Ye walked over, picked up the box, and opened it. Inside were several sealed glass bottles with labels reading – Serum.

He frowned, then hurried down into the parking garage with the box.

......

Bai Yutang's team soon found a section without cameras. It was pitch dark, so the SWAT officers switched on their lights, revealing three old vehicles.

One had a trunk that wasn't fully closed, leaving a small gap...

Zhao Hu walked over and was about to open it, but suddenly found both his hands being grabbed.

Hu Zi looked left and right, it was Bai Yutang and Wen Xiaorou who grabbed his hands.

Wen Xiaorou had come with this SWAT team. While Xiaofei had gone with the SWAT team that went to the factory, she was leading the team following Bai Yutang's vehicle.

Why were the two of them stopping Zhao Hu... Ma Han crouched down, listening closely, then frowned. "There's a sound..."

Everyone held their breath. From inside the trunk, they could hear a hissing noise.

A SWAT officer brought over a crowbar. Everyone stepped back a few paces as the officer prised the trunk open...

The lid lifted, and the light illuminated the interior, making everyone gasp.

Inside the trunk was a woman curled up, but what made their skin crawl was... beside the woman were several snakes... Triangular heads raised, tails swaying with a hiss, clear signs of danger.

A quick glance revealed cobras, rattlesnakes, and vipers... Three kinds of highly venomous snakes. Who knew how many more might be hidden in the car?

The woman lay motionless in the trunk, her black hair covering her face. But on closer inspection, she appeared to be breathing. It was unclear if she had been bitten.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han looked at Bai Yutang, silently asking – Boss, this situation...

Bai Yutang assessed the situation: they had to be both cautious and quick! If she had been bitten by the snakes, they must seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

If she wasn't bitten... then trying to catch the snakes might cause her to be bitten, and they themselves could be bitten as well.

At this distance, they couldn't risk shooting the snake... it's so close, it's easy to accidentally injure someone...

The police weren't afraid of criminals, but they were somewhat helpless when facing poisonous snakes... Maybe they could call the fire department? But that would take time... A distant water cannot put out a nearby fire!

"Can we lure the snakes out?" Zhao Hu saw the snakes entrenched in the trunk, showing no sign of leaving.

"It's been cool these days, with a living person inside, the car's relatively warm, so the snakes won't come out on their own..." Bai Yutang suddenly thought of something and asked Wen Xiaorou, "I've heard a certain legend..."

Wen Xiaorou, wrapping her coat around her arm, nodded. "Mm-hmm, Gongsun told you, right?"

"Sure enough." Bai Yutang pulled Zhao Hu and Ma Han back a few steps.

A member of the SWAT team handed Wen Xiaorou a dagger.

Ma Han asked Zhao Hu curiously, "What legend?"

Zhao Hu raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard? The criminal investigation team once investigated a case involving a body hidden in a cave. Old Yang went in to examine it, but realised something was wrong. When he realised what was happening, several venomous snakes had surrounded him and the corpse. Turns out the cave was a snake den."

As he spoke, Zhao Hu tilted his head towards Wen Xiaorou, who was slowly approaching the trunk. "Sister went in with a knife and cut all the snakes. Apparently, the scene was so bloody that even Old Yang, a battle-hardened veteran, was stunned."

Ma Han glanced silently at the nearby SWAT officers.

One of them nodded. "Don't try this if you're not a professional..."

No sooner had he finished than they heard more hissing... Wen Xiaorou grabbed a snake at an extremely fast speed and pulled it out. The first snake was cut at the same time as the second snake was pulled out...

Bai Yutang roughly calculated that she pulled out three snakes and cut them in ten seconds... Her technique for catching snakes was so professional that, though her movements looked unhurried, the snakes never reacted in time.

This scene made Bai Yutang inexplicably think of the cat at home catching insects... Although Luban usually looks dull and fat, it's much better at catching small flying insects than people. It slowly and leisurely pats with its small, fat paw, and the insect will be caught as if it is completely defenceless.

Wen Xiaorou checked the woman in the car and found that she was still alive and had no wounds on her body, so she should not have been bitten by a snake. She quickly told several team members to carry her out.

Bai Yutang went to open the trunk of the car next to it, and sure enough... it was the same situation as the previous one.

But the girl in this trunk had blood on her body, and there were wounds on her arms and legs. It seemed that she had been bitten by a snake.

Wen Xiaorou didn't waste any time, and like the previous car, she caught all the snakes and chopped them up.

Ma Han went to drive the car over while Zhao Hu and Bai Yutang carried the person out, and prepared to send her to the hospital immediately.

The third car opened... and there was a woman inside, but no snake.

Just as Wen Xiaorou was about to move her, someone behind her said, "Don't move."

Wen Xiaorou froze.

Bai Yutang turned around and saw that Bai Ye had come over at some point and was standing not far behind them.

Uncle Ye held a white paper box in his hand and gestured to Bai Yutang to look under the car.

Bai Yutang looked underneath the car where Wen Xiaorou was... and saw a shadow moving...

"Careful!" Bai Yutang warned her, and at the same time, Wen Xiaorou jumped onto the trunk of the car, then raised her hand and threw the knife, nailing a viper that had emerged from under the car.

There were no other snakes under the car, but Bai Yutang felt that there might be some that had escaped and were hiding somewhere. This was a public parking garage, and if one or two of them ran out and attacked people, it would be troublesome.

Ma Han called the fire department to conduct a thorough check.

The woman from the last car was also rescued, though she was also injured.

Except for the one who was unconscious in the first car, who was found to have no injuries after a simple examination, the other two were bitten by venomous snakes.

Without delay, Ma Han and Zhao Hu notified the hospital and immediately sent them over for emergency treatment.

Bai Ye handed the serum to the two of them.

Once they were gone, Bai Yutang, Bai Ye, and Wen Xiaorou took several SWAT officers, following Bai Ye through a shortcut from the parking garage to the factory.

Bai Yutang was a bit puzzled and asked Bai Ye, "Uncle, where did you get the serum?"

Bai Ye thought for a moment. "Found it."

They looked at him sceptically – Found it?

Bai Ye nodded. "I just saw someone, they left the box on the ground and then ran away."

"What kind of person?" Bai Yutang recalled from his earlier discussion with Zhan Zhao that the "kidnapper" seemed very "suspicious". Abducting Shi Yanshuo had actually been a big help, and the ransom demand of only two hundred and fifty yuan was almost an insult, clearly mocking the Shi family. If it were not for him, this dead end would be really difficult to break.

The person's main goal was likely to save people, and bringing the serum suggests that they knew Shi Yanshuo's and Wang Zhen's whereabouts well. Who was this person?

Bai Ye saw the two of them staring at him, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "What's the use of asking me? You have to ask the two troublemakers."

Bai Yutang frowned. "Troublemakers..."

Inside the canning factory.

Qin Ou and Wang Ba's inspection of the factory confirmed that there had been explosives, but they'd already been dismantled.

Luo Tian and Xiaofei climbed up to the mixer and removed Shi Yanshuo.

Outside the police cordon, Guan Xiaoyue and Qian Lin were peering in when Guan Xiaoyue's phone buzzed.

Looking at it, he received a text message: Three orders have been shipped. Two had issues, one was returned. Handle with care.

Guan Xiaoyue rolled his eyes – Oh no.

Qian Lin turned – What's wrong?

Guan Xiaoyue was about to answer when someone tapped his shoulder.

The two were startled and turned around to see Bai Yutang standing right behind them.

"Shall we go back and have a chat?" Bai Yutang asked the two of them with a smile.

Guan Xiaoyue and Qian Lin feigned ignorance, suggesting he talk to Bai Ye instead, after all, they'd been stuck on the roof together, and it was getting late, they had to prepare for tomorrow's show...

The two wanted to slip away, but Bai Yutang wasn't about to let them go. He clamped a hand on Guan Xiaoyue's shoulder and asked quietly, "Do you know someone called Tan Wen?"

Guan Xiaoyue suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Qian Lin was also stunned.

"We found the body of a young girl..."

Before Bai Yutang could finish, Guan Xiaoyue suddenly spun around. "Where did you find her? How did she die?"

His reaction surprised Bai Yutang a little... The skeletal remains likely belonged to the real Guan Xiaohong, not Tan Wen. Could it be that Guan Xiaoyue didn't know?

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 30, 2025 by Angel

Edited: October 22, 2025 by Angel